Podcasts by Better Things

What’s the problem with using incentives? from 2023-12-12T21:13:01.913701

It's an age-old question: how do we get people to do what we want them to do? Well, if you're the government, you might leverage the social security system and withhold payments as punishment, o...

Listen

How to embrace change and build resilience from 2023-12-12T21:13:01.899068

There's a reason why Greek tragedy has the reputation that it does. But for all the suffering and loss, there is also hope and persistence.

Classics academic Dr Sonia Pertsinidis explains...

Listen

How to be a rebel from 2019-11-11T07:36:20

In this age when smoking is no longer cool, everyone has a tattoo and leather jackets are a staple fashion item, what does it mean to be a rebel? Music scholar and musician Associate Professor S...

Listen

How to tell if you can trust someone from 2019-10-18T06:11:24

Trust makes the world go around. It's what undergirds a functioning civil society and is a necessary aspect of all our interactions.

So how can we tell who around us we can trust? Specific...

Listen

What your stuff says about you from 2019-09-27T08:28:54

Professor Chris McAuliffe and his University of Queensland colleague are engaged in a project of modern archaeology, uncovering new insights about the late artist Robert Smithson by trawling thr...

Listen

How to mix money and intimacy from 2019-08-16T08:27:14

There's a notion in western society that money taints love and friendship: witness our hang-ups over split billing, divorce settlements, and gift-giving. So you should seek to keep finance and r...

Listen

Why there's more to reducing crime than recidivism from 2019-07-24T00:12:48

It's a major problem in Australia and worldwide: our prison systems are overloaded and there's no end in sight.

Governments here and overseas are laser-focused on reducing recidivism as o...

Listen

What mainstream movies can teach us from 2019-06-10T05:36:33

Dr Katharina Bonzel watches movies, TV and videos for work. That might sound like a good deal – until you consider that she sometimes has to watch a single film up to 15 times.

It’s all f...

Listen